Canadian Team For Worlds

Today, Canadian Cycling Association (CCA) revealed the 13 riders that will represent Canada at the UCI Road World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, from September 29 to October 3, 2010. After a breakthrough year, Ryder Hesjedal has decided not to race at Worlds and Michael Barry, the fourth Canadian in the ProTour ranks, is recovering from broken ribs. Missing from the list is also Canadian Road Champion Will Routley.

2009 Pan American Road Champion Canadian Joëlle Numainville

The Canadian Women’s team will be headlined by Joëlle Numainville in the road race and Tara Whitten in the time trial.

2010 road Canadian Champion Numainville will be one of the Canadian cyclists with a chance of a podium finish at these championships. Racing for the Webcor Builders team, she won several races this season with her powerful sprinting abilities, including the Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau and the Tour of White Rock.

Tara Whitten is a favourite Canadian for the time trial race, an event in which she posted the top Canadian result at 2009 World Championships with an eighth place. Double World champion and five-time 2010 Canadian champion in track cycling, Whitten will seek to add more hardware to her collection for the 2010 campaign. She took the second place in the road race at the Canadian Championships, and third place in the Time Trials.

In the Men’s category, the team will be led by Svein Tuft, Christian Meier and Dominique Rollin,, three cyclists with regular international exposure, Tuft and Meier with the ProTour team Garmin-Transitions and Rollin with the ProContinental Cervelo TestTeam.

Canadian TT Champion Svein Tuft (Garmin-Transitions) at the start of the Amgen Tour of California Prologue

Tuft is the current Canadian Champion in the time trial race, and should be a strong contender for a Canadian medal in the race. He finished fifth overall at the UCI ProTour stage race in Eneco Tour, and second at the Tour of Denmark. At the 2008 World Championships, Tuft scored an impressive silver medal in the time trial event.

Rollin just came off a strong month in Europe with a second place overall at the Tour de Poitou-Charentes. The Worlds course which features a short power climb and the potential for a bunch finish should hopefully suit Rollin’s abilities.

Four cyclists will be entered in the U23 category, including David Boily and Guillaume Boivin who represented Canada at the recent Grand Prix Cycliste UCI ProTour races in Québec and Montréal.

Canadian road Cycling Team Head Coach Vincent Jourdain will be at the helm of the team, assisted by Denise Kelly for the women’s group.